[The study of zinc in osteonecrosis]

Plasmatic, urinary and intra-erythrocytic zinc levels did not modify in patients with head of femur aseptic osteonecrosis (HFAO), except for those patients with raised alkaline phosphatase who showed a diminution in zinc plasmatic levels, being found a negative correlation between plasmatic zinc levels and a raise in serum alkaline phosphatase. A raise on the latter would mean a raise on the osteoblastic activity in a repair intent from the bone of the small trabecular fractures and/or of the necrotic zone which is produced in HFAO. These results show the relationship of zinc with the increase on bone metabolic activity in patients with HFAO, but the scarce previous references force to study them in depth.